New drive to privatize Indian reservations has much in common with past efforts to steal Native land

A fresh effort to pry more land from the indigenous people of the United States is on the Trump regime’s agenda. Behind the idea is yet another of the centuries-long rip-offs of Indian land and destruction of tribes. The real benefits of the privatization would accrue to non-Indian businesses, including the extractive industries.

In particular, such a scheme would favor fossil fuel corporations. Perhaps 20 percent of the nation’s oil and gas reserves as well as vast coal deposits are found on reservations, even though these only make up 2 percent of the U.S. land base. Privatizing reservations meshes nicely with the Trump team’s moves to deregulate energy development.